


Black Siren: Resurgence

by orphan_account



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Fix-It of Sorts, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 07:06:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18244853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Dinah saying she doesn't think Laurel knows who she is anymore gives the Earth-2 immigrant the push she needed to give the self-righteous, judgmental police captain a serious reality check and decide its time to shed the skin of her Earth-1 counterpart.





	Black Siren: Resurgence

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Arrow.
> 
> A/N: It looks like Episode 18 will be KCR’s final one aside from, maybe, Crisis of Infinite Earths next fall. Assuming 7x18 doesn’t end with her being sent back to E-2 in chains. More on this in the bottom-side A/N.

Dinah Laurel Lance of Earth-2, who was now ironically playing the role of her Earth-1 counterpart and serving as the District Attorney, was going over another case file in her office and considering how best to make her arguments when a light knock sounded at the door. She turned and felt a spike of irritation when she saw Dinah Drake standing there. “You here to give me another lecture, or…?” she asked, a bit haughtily, but in all honesty she was _so_ sick of the judgment she faced from everyone on this Earth because she wasn’t their perfect Earth-1 Laurel and she was about ready to stop acting the part of the goodie two-shoes. If there was one thing that hadn’t changed between the two Earths, it was how people seemed to saint their dead and pretend they had never had issues. The only reason she had never forced the issue of using her proper name, Dinah, was because she shared it with the self-righteous bitch that had just entered her office.

“The Halconas lieutenant, Gustavo Hernandez, was found dead an hour ago,” Dinah replied.

Laurel clenched her jaw for a moment, reading the mild accusation in the other woman’s tone and biting down on her initial response. “Really?” she asked nonchalantly. “Am I supposed to be sad about that or something?” She circled around her desk, still holding the folder.

“Well, we had him in custody to prevent that,” Dinah pointed out, still watching Laurel with judging eyes. “Until your office said we had to turn him loose.”

Again, Laurel felt a spike of irritation. Dinah had called her into her office like her old school principal had when she bloodied some bastard’s face for pinching her ass, telling her she needed to handle things _the right way_ , and when she did, the self-righteous ‘hero’ decided to use it as evidence for some nefarious scheme. “Well, he made bail,” Laurel said, keeping her voice calm for the time being. “You’re the one who said I had to do things the right way, so, I let him loose and here we are, back to square one.”

“Well, actually, we’re not,” Dinah said, and for the first time in the conversation, Laurel wasn’t sure where the other woman was heading, though she doubted it would be anywhere good considering the self-righteous, judging attitude Dinah had walked in with. “Hernandez’ death spooked another of Gonzalez’s other lieutenants, and, uh, he’s gonna testify,” Dinah finished, and gave a sarcastic smile. “Isn’t that convenient?”

Laurel couldn’t keep the dismay from her voice, her face, or her eyes as she said, “You think I did this.” After everything she had done to get Oliver free, to change, to _honor_ Quentin, to be a better person, she was still being looked at as the two-dimensional villain she had been characterized as by first Red and his team, then Oliver and his. And they wondered why she was so willing to take a chance with the so-called villains?

“Well, I’m not exactly hearing a denial,” Dinah said, standing across from Laurel with her hands clasped in front of her, her expression firmly one of judgment.

“I shouldn’t have to give you one,” Laurel rebuked, trying her best not to sneer at Dinah in disgust. “I think I’ve done more than enough to earn the benefit of the doubt from you.”

Dinah closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, judgment and accusation on full display. “I saw how you looked at that man,” she said, “and it was the _same_ look you gave Vinny, right before you executed him.”

Laurel felt like Dinah had just sucker-punched her. Her whole life, her emotions had ruled her. She had never learned the blank mask that someone like Oliver (or Robert Queen on her Earth) had perfected. When she acted, people knew what she was feeling because _that_ was how she fueled herself in a combat situation. Fear, anger, joy, love… maybe not so much the last one since she had had little love in her life since her Oliver died.

When she joined Zoom, she delighted in torturing those who saw her as a _thing_ , because metahumans had no rights on her Earth. When she joined Prometheus and pretended to be Earth-1’s Laurel, she lost herself in the idea that she was reuniting with _her_ Ollie to stomach the situation and she also did it to protect Quentin. She did the same when Cayden and then Diaz pulled her into their schemes. When she killed Vince, she had been feeling fear because she knew Cayden would turn on her if she didn’t do it, and reluctance because Vince had treated her normally, instead of as a tool like everyone else had. When she was in that interview room, and that Halconas lieutenant had taunted her about Quentin, it had been _rage_ she was feeling.

Laurel stepped forward, anger once more fueling her as she decided it was time to cut the bullshit and confirm something she had suspected regardless that both Dinah and Felicity had worked with her (though only Felicity had come to see her as a friend). She was _sick_ of trying to keep the peace when it was becoming clearer that aside from Felicity, none of them wanted to really give her a chance. “I have busted my ass being a good D.A.,” she said venomously, glaring at Dinah, whose continued judging expression only further fueled the rage she was feeling. “Trying to play by the rules, but no matter what I do, you will always just see me as the Black Siren!”

Dinah’s expression was blank for a moment, and then she huffed in scornful amusement, looking away for a moment before looking up again, a humorless smile on her face. “You’re right,” Dinah said. “You’re right, and I’m sorry, but I don’t know who you really are, Laurel. I don’t, and I don’t think that you do, either. I think that’s what scares me the most.”

As Dinah turned to leave, Laurel finally lost her control. She blasted Dinah across the room in an instant with her sonic cry. “You’re right,” she sneered, losing the slumped posture and casual walk of her Earth-1 counterpart as she walked towards the downed police captain, who pushed herself up, watching Laurel stalk closer with wide eyes. “See, I only became Earth-1’s Laurel Lance because of this ego-centric _bitch_ who couldn’t tell that I killed Vince under duress. He was the _only one_ from that bunch, the only one since _my_ Oliver, to treat me like a human and not some pretty attack dog. If I had _wanted_ to kill him, I’d have used by cry to rip him apart like I did those buildings in Central City.” Laurel shot a Siren’s Kiss at Dinah as she tried to stand, knocking her back on her ass. “Stay down, or you’ll get an upfront example,” Laurel sneered.

“You realize your career as DA is over, right?” Dinah panted, leaning against the wall for support. She was pretty sure that Siren’s Kiss had just broken her ribs.

“Well, as everyone keeps reminding me, I’m not a real attorney,” Laurel sneered. “And as I was saying, you’re right. I lost sight of who I was, first out of a desire to protect myself from you until I was one hundred percent again, then out of a desire to protect Quentin, and then out of a desire to honor him for dying when I should’ve.” Laurel crouched down. “So, in a way, I guess I should say thank you. Laurel Lance was the kind of person to be a D.A., and the truth is, I’m _not_ her. She had a good life; she had her family, the man she loved, and a chance to love the law the way her father did. She would’ve been the perfect D.A. I’m _Dinah_ Lance, the Black Siren, and thanks to you, I finally remember what that means. I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t believe the law solves everything. I’m a rebel, a criminal, a _vigilante_ because the law _doesn’t_ protect others.” With that, she shed the skin of Laurel Lance and delivered a solid right hook to the police captain’s jaw.

“This isn’t my home,” Dinah Lance said softly. “It’s time I went back and started fighting for my people again.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Despite the good writing this season, I’m pissed off again. From the looks of it, they are literally writing E-2 Laurel off the show in the episode that marks the three-year anniversary of E-1 Laurel being written off. Even if it’s a good send-off and she returns to E-2 of her own accord and not as a prisoner, its still like a knife to the heart all over again.
> 
> I thought I could stick with Arrow. But there’s this, the fact Oliver’s legacy is to fail to save his city in the end, we have no idea what will become of Thea, the recent revelations about Emiko’s motivation, and Oliver’s daughter will be raised to be a warrior and enjoy killing like Oliver claimed he did in 5x17. I’ll watch 7x18 to see Black Siren’s send-off, whatever that might be… but after that, I think I’m done watching.


End file.
